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January 16, 2015 | As the Department of Homeland Security funding bill seems all but dead due to GOP attempts to roll back the president’s actions on immigration, a variety of interested parties that have little to do with border policy are left hanging on the sidelines. The House passed the 2015 bill Wednesday, along with a series of…

December 17, 2014 | Former Florida Governor and ex-First Brother Jeb Bush announced his plans to start a fundraising committee next month, and immediately some big names in GOP money — such as Florida developer Mel Sembler — got behind him. Bush has recently proven his ability to raise big bucks, but some of Bush’s likely competitors for the…

December 3, 2014 | This article was cross-posted at TIME.com. The defeat of the Keystone XL pipeline bill in the Senate last month may have been viewed as a blow to Sen. Mary Landrieu‘s re-election bid, but her battle to get the bill passed was warmly received by members of the oil and gas industry, including Keystone’s parent company.…

November 10, 2014 | It may be too early to call 2014 the year that K Street’s long decline ended, but the most recent round of reports suggest at least a leveling off. Third quarter 2014 lobbying expenditures totaled $771.9 million, which is only a bit lower than outlays during the same period in previous years. And spending for the…

October 16, 2014 | Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly stated that Chevron Corp. made a $2 million donation to CLF. It has been corrected to reflect the actual amount of the donation, $1 million. Chevron Corp. donated $1 million to a conservative super PAC with ties to Karl Rove’s dark money network in early July, a rare instance of…

July 16, 2014 | Thom Tillis, the Republican challenger to Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan in North Carolina, has been out-raised by more than $10 million, including $2 million in the second quarter of 2014. But he’s hoping for at least a little help from a joint fundraising committee he’s created, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings. The handful of donors who…

July 2, 2014 | In the years since he left office, former President George W. Bush has mostly stayed out of the public eye, happier to talk about what he’d do with a canvas than what the U.S. should do in Iraq or Afghanistan. Former Vice President Dick Cheney, on the other hand, has been more than willing to voice…

March 12, 2014 | It's hard to sort out lobbyists' motivations for making campaign contributions. But the top recipients of their donations so far this cycle are a bit of a surprise: Top Republican leadership and at-risk Senate Democrats.

November 12, 2013 | Smaller airlines lobbied hard for more airport access when US Airways and American Airlines moved to create the world's largest carrier. A deal struck today allows the merger to go forward, but also paid off for the little guys.

September 23, 2013 | The Baucus jobs summit last week in Butte was billed as a nonpolitical event meant to promote jobs in his home state of Montana. But it also drew major corporations interested in corporate tax reform. For many of these companies, the ties to Baucus and his former staffers on K Street run deep.

February 14, 2013 | Iraq hires the Podesta Group, known for its ties to top Democrats, to boost its image on Capitol Hill, and American Airlines merger with US Airways will create a jumbo jet sized K Street game.

February 8, 2013 | Jesse Benton was an integral part of the Paul family's network of organizations, and a lightning rod for controversy before he left last fall to become Mitch McConnell's campaign manager. We can settle one matter about which critics have raised questions: How much he earned during his years with Paul's various committees.

December 27, 2012 | Flights were grounded by the thousands this week, leading one pilot to -- gasp! -- speak his mind about his higher-ups' decisionmaking. Maybe they were thinking about their fiscal cliff lobbying strategy instead.

October 2, 2012 | When tens of millions of viewers tune in Wednesday to the first of three debates between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, it's likely that the only fireworks will be on stage. But controversy rages about the Commission on Presidential Debates, which is hosting the event, and several sponsors have dropped out in recent days.

March 29, 2012 | The story of a JetBlue pilot who may have had a mental breakdown on a flight to Las Vegas earlier this week ended without physical harm when fellow crew members and passengers stepped in, but it highlighted questions about air safety: How closely are pilots monitored? Who decides when it's safe for them to fly?
And how much do the airlines spend lobbying on issues like this?

June 22, 2011 | A notable group of federal lobbyists -- 22 individuals to be exact -- made personal contributions to national party committees on both sides of the isle, according to an analysis of 2010 campaign donation records by the Center for Responsive Politics.
But a notable few -- 22 individuals to be exact -- made personal contributions to national party committees on both sides of the isle, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.

April 13, 2011 | It's no secret that corporations and special interest groups that dominate lobbying in the nation's capital routinely shower campaign cash on congressional committees directly affecting affect their business interests. But a study by the Center for Responsive Politics and The Fiscal Times found that special interests routinely target members of Congress who can do them the most good.

November 4, 2010 | Republicans' 60-seat surge during Tuesday's midterm election included replacing the seats of three longtime committee chairmen with almost a century of experience in Congress between them.

May 19, 2010 | DERIVATIVES BATTLE: In a rather startling, but maybe not surprising report, the nonprofit advocacy group, Public Citizen, contends that since the beginning of 2009, financial industry lobbyists have opposed a controversial overhaul of derivatives regulation by a ratio of 11-to-1.

March 30, 2010 | Both the RNC and its Democratic counterpart, the Democratic National Committee, sometimes spend lavishly on travel, catering resorts and hotel accommodations, such as the nearly $2,000 for "meals" at the risqué Voyeur night club in West Hollywood. You, too, can be a sleuth and dig into the expenditure details -- of the RNC, DNC and all other political committees -- on OpenSecrets.org.

October 29, 2009 | At least 44 lawmakers have left their congressional seats mid-term since 1990, and at least 16 of them went on to work at lobbying firms or at companies that hired lobbyists, CRP has found. Here, we take a closer look at a few of these individuals, examining which industries and clients they're now representing and the campaign cash they received while in Congress.

February 24, 2009 | When President Obama addresses the nation tonight in a State of the Union fashion, it won't just be Congress and members of the public tuning in. Special interests, too, will be paying close attention to what the president has to say about upcoming plans that could affect them. Capital Eye takes a look at the key issues Obama is likely to discuss--and the industries, sectors and groups that will be listening closely to his message.

January 15, 2009 | Within the next few months, it will become increasingly clear how the federal government intends to tackle pressing issues, including the economy, health care reform and curbing global warming. Those efforts, led by a Democratic president and an expanded Democratic majority in Congress, might look drastically different from those of the last eight years under Republican President Bush. What won't change, however, are the attempts by special interests to influence legislation. Capital Eye looks at which industries are spending money to shape the economic stimulus, health care reform, energy policy and labor laws.

December 9, 2008 | Before he was the governor of Illinois who was taken into custody on corruption charges, Rod Blagojevich was a member of Congress relying on lawyers and law firms, unions, finance companies and fellow lawmakers to fund his campaigns. Blagojevich also helped pay for some of his colleagues' campaigns, including a few that are still in Congress.

July 24, 2008 | The long and winding road to work has become more costly than ever before, but it's also forcing drivers to explore other ways of getting around. From bikes to buses, Americans are starting to spend more time using other modes of transportation instead of in their gas-guzzling cars. These alternative industries, which may have been largely ignored in the past, are getting a greater deal of attention from consumers at home, as well as from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

July 10, 2008 | Industries across the board have a stake in the outcome of energy legislation, either because they are looking for handouts or trying to minimize harm. Capital Eye profiles the major players, their concerns and the money they're spending to be heard on Capitol Hill.

May 19, 2008 | Another adviser to presidential candidate John McCain has resigned because of his work as a lobbyist, bringing the total in the last week to five. Tom Loeffler, McCain's national finance co-chairman, called it quits this weekend after the Republican's campaign manager required all campaign staffers with lobbying ties to cut those ties or resign.

Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center.

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